Garlic Infused Oil

Our answer

Nigella uses garlic infused or garlic flavoured oil in several recipes, mainly for speed and convenience. We are sorry that you are having difficulty finding it in France. The olive oil specialist A L'Olivier sells a garlic and thyme infused oil which would be suitable for some of the recipes, though may not be ideal for Chinese and Asian dishes. A L'Olivier has a store in Paris and also has an online store for mail order in France. If you are near a Lidl store then it is worth checking there as they have a garlic oil in their Deluxe range. The UK website Britsuperstore will buy and forward many food items from the UK and they list Marks And Spencer's garlic infused oil on their website. If you live near Paris it may also be worth trying the Marks and Spencer food hall in Beaugrenelle (though we suggest calling first if making a special trip). If you live near the Swiss border then several of the Coop stores in Geneva and Vaud cantons sell infused oils or you can try the food hall at Globus in Geneva (again we suggest calling ahead first if making a special trip).

If you can't find garlic infused oil then for every 1 tablespoon of the oil listed in a recipe you can instead use 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil plus a small clove of garlic, crushed or minced. Nigella often uses a microplane grater to grate the garlic straight into the pan.